Omaha is becoming a somewhat regular spot for the NCAA Final Four in volleyball.
The NCAA announced Tuesday that Omaha has been awarded the final week of the NCAA volleyball tournament in 2020. The two semifinal matches will be played on Dec. 17, and the championship on Dec. 19.
That will be the fourth time Omaha has hosted in 15 years, which is the most of any site in the history of the tournament. The previous years were 2006, ’08 and ’15. Assisted by Nebraska qualifying for the Final Four each time Omaha has hosted, the site has set several attendance records, including an NCAA-record crowd of 17,561 for the 2015 championship match.
Two of the Huskers’ four NCAA championships in volleyball were won when the Final Four was in Omaha.
Omaha has proved to be the most attended host site in NCAA women's volleyball history; five of the top six attendance figures all-time have been set at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
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Nebraska coach John Cook expected Omaha would be chosen, calling it a “no-brainer.â€
“Omaha does the Final Four better than anybody, and it should be coming back here because they do such an outstanding job,†Cook said after the Huskers’ practice Tuesday. “For all those players that go there, it feels big-time, it’s a great experience and we get great crowds. It’s great for the sport.â€
In December, Cook was also complimentary of the job Columbus, Ohio, did hosting the Final Four. The announced attendance for the semifinals there was 16,670.
Other cities chosen for the volleyball Final Four were Minneapolis (2018), Pittsburgh (2019) and Columbus (2021). In 2017, the Final Four is in Kansas City, Missouri.
There were many years when the volleyball Final Four was in cities in California, Texas and Florida, but most of the recent Final Four cities, and the upcoming ones, have been in the Midwest and East.
Texas hasn’t had a Final Four since San Antonio in 2011. Florida landed the championship just once, in Tampa in 2009. California last hosted in Sacramento in 2007.
In the Midwest, volleyball is now a big deal in many college towns, Cook said.
“We got to make sure volleyball is drawing big crowds, it’s good on TV, and it’s showing that there is a lot of interest,†he said.
Omaha was also chosen Tuesday to host the first and second round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in 2020. Omaha was previously selected to host the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds of the men’s basketball tournament in 2018.
Omaha also had made a bid to host the Frozen Four for hockey and the championship for NCAA Division I wrestling, but was not chosen.
The Frozen Four is staying with its recent trend of being in NHL arenas, with Detroit, Pittsburgh, Boston and Buffalo, New York, chosen.
The wrestling championships were awarded to Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, St. Louis and Detroit.